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Exciting classical, pops and family concerts featuring award-winning guest artists and musicians from your Winston-Salem Symphony in universally regarded masterpieces, new favorites, and music with a regional flair. There’s no sound like home.
Classically inspired.
6 classical music concerts on Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons in Reynolds Auditorium
GERSHWIN,
RACHMANINOFF,
& TRANE
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
SEP 26 & 27, 2026
MICHELLE MERRILL CONDUCTOR
ROBERT YOUNG SAXOPHONE
Our 80th season-opening celebration coincides with the centennial celebration of High Point native John Coltrane, who left an enduring legacy in the jazz idiom. Saxophonist Robert Young brings Coltrane’s influence to bear in a recent concerto by Guillaume Connesson. Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess and Rachmaninoff’s fiery Symphonic Dances, two of the rare orchestral pieces that include saxophone, round out this program.
VIOLINS of HOPE
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
NOV 14 & 15, 2026
MICHELLE MERRILL CONDUCTOR
SARA DAVIS BUECHNER PIANO
SYMPHONY CHORUS
In this program, we remember victims of the Holocaust in a deeply musical way: by performing on surviving instruments of the Holocaust, collectively known as the Violins of Hope, in music of Mendelssohn, Bernstein, John Williams, Jessie Montgomery, and others. Guest pianist Sara Davis Buechner also joins for UNCSA faculty composer Jared Miller’s poignant work Shattered Night in remembrance of the November anniversary of Kristallnacht.
BRAHMS 1
+ Beethoven and Glass
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
JAN 23 & 24, 2027
MICHELLE MERRILL CONDUCTOR
YEVGENY KUTIK VIOLIN
Hear two Winston-Salem Symphony premieres on one concert! Enjoy the Symphony’s first-ever performance of the overture to Beethoven’s only ballet, Creatures of Prometheus, plus the vibrant violinist Yevgeny Kutik in the Second Violin Concerto of Philip Glass. Known for his mesmerizing “minimalist” sound, Glass’s music has a broad appeal among symphony audiences, opera lovers, and movie buffs. Brahms’ captivating First Symphony—which took Brahms over twenty years to write—balances the program.
ROMEO & JULIET
A Theatrical Concert
Created and Directed by Bill Barclay
Produced by Concert Theatre Works
Commissioned by The Royal Albert Hall
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
MAR 6 & 7, 2027
MICHELLE MERRILL CONDUCTOR
Shakespeare’s most beloved drama, performed live by actors from Concert Theatre Works (who are returning after 2023’s WSS performances of The Chevalier), is interspersed with selections from Prokofiev’s powerful and enduring Op.64 ballet score—one of his most popular orchestral landscapes.
FALSE HEROES
Don Quixote & Beethoven’s “Eroica”
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
APR 24 & 25, 2027
MICHELLE MERRILL CONDUCTOR
BROOKS WHITEHOUSE CELLO
SIMON ERTZ VIOLA
WSS principal cellist Brooks Whitehouse portrays the pseudo-hero adventurer Don Quixote with principal violist Simon Ertz as his sidekick, Sancho Panza, in Richard Strauss’ epic tone poem. Then, on the second half, enjoy Beethoven’s “heroic” Symphony No. 3, originally dedicated to Napoleon before he crowned himself emperor and prompting Beethoven to angrily remove the dedication.
CARMINA BURANA
+ Muhly’s Doom Painting
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
MAY 29 & 30, 2027
MICHELLE MERRILL CONDUCTOR
TINE THING HELSETH TRUMPET
SYMPHONY CHORUS
The 26/27 season concludes with composer Nico Muhly’s Doom Painting, written specifically for the incredible Norwegian trumpeter Tine Thing Helseth and receiving its East Coast premiere. The Symphony Chorus then joins for Carl Orff’s instantly recognizable Carmina Burana and its spine-tingling “O Fortuna” chorus.
Subscriptions are also on sale and are a great way to save your favorite seat. Subscribe and save 10-15%.
Popular favorites.
4 popular programs, from folk to film to fun, in Reynolds Auditorium
AOIFE O’DONOVAN:
America, Come
SATURDAY
OCT 10, 2026
MICHELLE MERRILL CONDUCTOR
GRAMMY® winning singer/songwriter Aoife O’Donovan brings her flavorful blend of folk, roots, and bluegrass to Winston-Salem for this electrifying, one-night-only event. Enjoy favorite hits “Briar Rose” and “Magic Hour” alongside numbers from her latest album All My Friends, including the poignant, Suffrage anthem “America, Come” featuring girls from the Winston-Salem Choral Academy chorus.
A Carolina Christmas:
CIRQUE de la Symphonie
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
NOV 28 & 29, 2026
MICHELLE MERRILL CONDUCTOR
The incredibly popular, high-flying acrobats, jugglers, and contortionists of Cirque de la Symphonie join to ring in the holiday season on this year’s A Carolina Christmas.
With two shows to choose from on Thanksgiving weekend, you can bring the whole family!
ACTION!
The Legacy of John Williams
SATURDAY
FEB 6, 2027
LARRY LOH CONDUCTOR
The musical genius of John Williams spans nearly our entire lifetime. Experience his sublime movie music, from Jaws to Star Wars, Indiana Jones to Harry Potter and beyond. Larry Loh (from our Home Alone performances in 2023) returns to lead the orchestra.
Chantal Anderson / The New York Times / Redux
NEXT LEVEL
Video Game Music in Concert
SATURDAY
MAY 8, 2027
J. AARON HARDWICK CONDUCTOR
Following a hugely successful, sold-out debut with the Munich Radio Orchestra, conductor J. Aaron Hardwick leads an orchestral tour of the gaming world’s most hardcore scores. Ready, player one!
Family fun.
HALLOWEEN
Spooktacular!
SATURDAY
OCT 17, 2026
MICHELLE MERRILL CONDUCTOR
Wear your costumes and be ready for tricks and treats from your Winston-Salem Symphony!
Project TRIO
SATURDAY
APR 10, 2027
MICHELLE MERRILL CONDUCTOR
Kid-favorite, flute/sax/bass trio brings rockstar flare to a blend of classical, jazz, hiphop, rock, and bluegrass.
Choral beauty.
Symphony Chorus:
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci
SUNDAY
OCT 25, 2026
CHRIS GILLIAM CONDUCTOR
HAGEN The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci
A multimedia experience with full chorus and chamber orchestra.
Handel’s
MESSIAH
THURSDAY
DEC 17, 2026
MICHELLE MERRILL CONDUCTOR
A stunning Thursday-evening presentation of this Christmastime tradition blends your Symphony and Chorus with fantastic soloists for one of music’s most cherished works.